Bailing off the sixth pitch of Petit Grepon (5.8) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, in the face of a rain and hail storm, our tester put this “emergency storm jacket for an alpine environment” to the test. The Arc’teryx Alpha SL Jacket ($319; arcteryx.com) was a godsend for the two-hour downpour while the tester and her partner rapped down almost 800 feet.
The Outdoor Research Mithrilite Jacket ($199, outdoorresearch.com) presents an extremely lightweight (24 oz.) and versatile softshell with full waterproof capabilities.
The new Arc'teryx Gamma MX jacket for climbers is a definite upgrade, with its proprietary Fortius 2.0 fabric, which is blessed with enhanced durability and water resistance without any sacrifice of stretch or breathability.
Outdoor companies have adopted the word "hybrid" to mean apparel that combines multiple fabrics within a single layer for comfort and smart performance. Employing what they call “body mapping,” designers examine the way certain parts of our bodies work, and then put waterproof shell fabric where you need waterproofing, stretch panels where you need breathability, and insulation where you need warmth, all in the same layer.
Testing a waterproof shell jacket during a dry Colorado winter is like bringing your trad rack on a family vacation to Disneyland: pointless and futile. Ergo, we sent these seven shells from Climbing magazine headquarters in Boulder to climbers across the country, from unpredictable Vermont to the soggy South and up to the waterlogged Pacific Northwest.
After months of testing on hundreds of routes, Climbing magazine's editors offer up their picks for the most innovative, useful, and just damn good gear of the year. The Singing Rock Crux, Mammut Smart Alpine, Black Diamond Gridlock Screwgate, Petzl Grigri 2, Five Ten Arrowhead, Arc'Teryx Squamish Hoody, Beal Joker 9.1, North Face Verto, and Salewa Rapace GTX all won high praises and took home the Editors' Choice Award.
A softshell is loosely defined as a garment that offers a high degree of weather protection and durability while maintaining excellent breathability and luxurious comfort. The combination of these key performance attributes gives softshells a broad utility range in terms of both activity and environment.
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